Triple A Dukes win PCL championship
September 22, 2000
The Albuquerque Dukes went out on top.
The franchise that will be no longer in 2001 won the '00 Pacific Coast League regular season championship with an 85-53 record.
The Dukes, an affiliate of the Dodgers since 1972, will move to Portland for the 2001 season, leaving Albuquerque without professional baseball for the first time in decades. The Dukes won their first league title since 1994.
Some notable performances from the Dukes' final year of existence:
• LF
Matt Luke had the most RBIs (74), the second most home runs (19) and the fourth best slugging percentage (.454) among National League Triple A players. Luke is 29 and hit .272 for the season. Interestingly, the Dodgers never called him up, preferring to pull up 19-year-old LF phenom Josh Hamilton instead.
• Pitcher
Andrew Zarzour, a July call-up to the Big Club, led the Pacific Coast League with 256 strikeouts. His 10 wins tied him for seventh best among Triple A players with National League franchises. Zarzour's ERA of 3.21 was sixth best among National League Triple A pitchers. He had five complete games, third best in the PCL.
• RF
Rod Lindsey finished with the seventh best batting average among Triple A teams in the National League, .317. Thomas Howard was ninth at .308.
The Dodgers have announced their revamped Minor League affiliates for the 2001 season:
• Las Vegas 51s, Pacific Coast League (AAA)
• Jacksonville Suns, Southern League (AA)
• Vero Beach Dodgers, Florida State League (A-Advanced)
• Wilmington Waves, South Atlantic League (A)
• Great Falls Dodgers, Pioneer League (Rookie-Advanced)
• GCL Dodgers, Gulf Coast League (Rookie)
(Hopefully, Josh Hamilton and the Big Z won't have to worry too much about these teams in 2001. But you never know... The meek Big Z in Las Vegas? Now that would be something...)